HDF Chicago 11th Annual Fundraising Dinner
Event Pictures
The HDF Chicago Network held its 11th Annual Fundraising Dinner at the Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows last week on Saturday, May, 3rd. 2008. The evening attracted over five hundred guests from all over the Chicago, Milwaukee, and Indiana areas.
The keynote speaker for the evening was Nobel laureate Dr. Adil Najam. Dr Najam reasoned with the audience and provoked them to think about how Pakistani-Americans as a group can help empower those in Pakistan who are disenfranchised and voiceless - an empowerment that will come about only through mass literacy, enhanced quality of education, universal primary healthcare, and grass roots economic development.
The evening was jam packed with people full of fervor for HDF and its mission. This year we were pleased to see a lot of youth from our HDF Enable chapter getting involved with the fundraiser, HDF Enable is group under the HDF umbrella designed to mobilize young Pakistanis from all over the world to make a difference. It was wonderful and encouraging to see that young professionals from our Chicago community took such a visible part in the event; it assured us that long into the future, HDF will continue to have support and will have an enthusiastic group of people who will be able to carry on HDF’s goals and mission, and that too from a group that is passionate enough to see it’s mission through.
It was a pleasant surprise to see a camera crew in the foyer of the Meadows Club where journalist Ethan Casey was interviewing HDF members and other community members for his documentary on Pakistan and Pakistani Americans. This is another marker that shows that HDF’s message has not gone unheard.
The evening got under way promptly at 7:30pm when the doors were opened for dinner, after the dinner activities along with the sounds of plates and spoons clanking had ceased, the audience was ready for the rest of the evening to begin.
At 8:35pm, Arshia Hasnain, the Master of Ceremonies, took the stage and laid out the program for the evening. The recitation of the Quran was performed by the very cute twin team of Mishka and Kiyan Banuri. Later, the stage was graced by the presence of Congresswoman Melissa Bean who delighted the audience with her Urdu skills. She has always been a friend to HDF and we look forward to her and her team’s support in the future. Also present was the Consul General of Pakistan, Dr. Aman Rashid, who commended the work of HDF in bringing social change in the disadvantaged rural population. Next, our keynote speaker, Dr. Adil Najam, captivated the audience with his brilliant slide presentation. The audience, captivated, listened with concentration as the Nobel Prize winner put forward one question after another. He made the audience ponder and reflect about the conditions in Pakistan and asked them to reflect on and come up with ways that we can help.
Following that, HDF's national board member, Navaid Abidi, gave concrete facts and figures and paved the way for our fundraising portion of the evening. The fundraiser portion began with the live auction which was conducted by Mehmood Khan. Brett Favre's autographed jersey and other wonderful items caught the attention of business woman Shahida Khan of Expressions Boutique, she managed to out bid everyone for many of the live auction items. Another wonderful gesture by one of our Chicago Board member, Tahir Rohail, was that he bid on a beautiful painting by artist Sadia Uqaili, and after having purchased it, he put it back up for auction, since others were also interested in bidding on it, the purpose behind this was to raise more funds for HDF through a second bidding. Our target this year was to raise at least $275,000 and we succeeded in collecting well over that amount thanks to the efforts of Mujahid Ghazi and Sajjad Asghar who, themselves motivated, continued to exhort the crowd for pledges and donations.
The evening was far from over as many waited patiently for the Pakistani pop singer Faakhir to take the stage. Faakhir was given a warm round of applause and loud cheer from the Chicago crowd. His graceful manner and soulful voice kept the atmosphere enchanting and the night young.
We would like to thank all of the board members (Shahida Khan, Raza Khan, Shahnaz Rehman, Luna Banuri, Naveed Ahmed, Farrah Ansari, Mussarat Arshad, Syed Sajjad Asghar, Afshan Gumrah, Nameera Hassan, Nasreen Riaz, Tahir Rohail and Muzammil Siddiqui), and all the dedicated volunteers who helped make the evening a success. Also, many thanks go to the HDF office staff; they are always there to help us whenever we need them. Lastly, I would like to thank all of our supporters, donors and good friends - for it is only with your support that HDF's critical work is even possible. Thank you and see you all next year on May 2nd, 2009, same time, and same place.
Arshia Hasnain
Co-Chair
HDF Chicago Network
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